Private
Lectures onPrivate
Lectures onSee the famous Vincent van Gogh paintings in Amsterdam, Holland. Join a gifted art historian and author.
Where can you meet Van Gogh in Holland?In tTwo glorious, great Vincent van Gogh collections exist in Holland. How is that possible? This is the story of two great collectors and their collections:
Van Gogh Museum, English text
Also for business contacts, VIPs and visiting dignitaries. Can probably get you tickets.
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"Dear Kees,
Phenomenal! Touring with you was like being friends with the top curator of a major art museum.
Your mountain of knowledge allowed you to zig and zag with our questions and flow seamlessly back into your captivating analysis.
Thank you for engaging each and every family member. It was a delight to be with you, and we feel lucky to have had the experience.
Sincerely,
Leigh and Daniel Levine and family, march 2018."
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A TV lecture in front of the painting of the Bedroom in the Yellow House in Arles. The light blue colour in this picture was initially painted light purple, but it has faded over time. Purple and yellow are complementary colours and raise each others strength in the human eye. Photo 2013 by Yuichi Nara.
July 2013: Ricardo N and his wife Francis S. live in New York City and are full-time NYC art aficianados, travelling the world and visiting most of the fine art centers in Europe.
In June-July 2013 they toured for three full days with Drs Kees Kaldenbach.
Ricardo: "I would rate you as terrific. It is a great treat being with you - You saved my life in showing me the Mauritshuis collection - I thought it was completely closed!"
Francis N.: "Kees is outstanding... he has a very rare gift among any the great number of professional tour guide we met in our lifetime... in presenting a deep and very specific art history knowledge, and in combining this with passion and and easy going presentation.
My husband and I have spent our lives in the art world of NYC and the West Coast. We have rarely met such a wonderful guide. Kees is an outstanding fountain of visual knowledge and historic insight. He truly is top class within the field of Western art history!"
1. OTTERLO, in the center of the Netherlands.
Transport : a professional taxibus service at around E 70 per hour. Plus me as a guide.
The first, visionary collector is Helene Müller, born 1869, who married the wealthy industrialist, mr Kröller and thus, by Dutch custom, was named ms. Kröller-Müller. As the couple were incredibly wealthy they bought a vast hunting area and built themselves a luxurious villa-cum-hunting lodge and made detailed plans for a major museum on their property in order to house the modern art collection amassed by Helene. With almost unlimited funds, an impeccable taste and mr Bremmer as the main art advisor next to her, she had started to buy works by Juan Gris, Piet Mondian and many other names of artists now internationally famous. Those works of art were still affordable in those days. Sowly the idea was born in the mind of ms. Kröller-Müller that she did not collect for her own pleasure but for the benefit of the nation and international visitors. Click for krollermuller visit.
The slump started in Mr Kröller in the 1920s and economic crash of 1933 their business capital evaporated. With foresight, the Dutch state accepted the deal offered, took over the land and the art collections and supported the construction of the small museum to house the grand collection, and opened up the museum and wildlife park to the public as a celebration of the interplay between Nature & Art. Subsequent directors added new wings and designed a vast high-quality sculpture park which is almost unequaled in the world. A visit to the park is a treat. One needs a car to get there, out in the middle of nowhere.
2. AMSTERDAM
Van Gogh Museum, English
The other main collector, Theo van Gogh, is known worldwide as the faithful brother who floated Vincent. During his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh was so way ahead of the art market that he managed to sell just one or two paintings. All of the other works he painted ended up with his brother Theo, who considered the paintings sent by Vincent to Theo as a fair exchange for the continuous flow of money from Theo to Vincent.
Theo also wanted Vincent to befriend the circle of modern (Impressionist) painters in Paris to exchange paintings as a basis for an art gallery for modern art, envisioned by Theo. That business venture never was realized because of his untimely death.
Theo died just one year after Vincent (from Syph and madness) and Theo's widow started a PR campaign to make Vincents' name famous troughout the world. She wrote to art dealers and sent paintings to be exhibited and sold worldwide. And she started publishing the famous volumes of letters by Vincent. The sandwich of the two: Art & Letters had made Vincent the first artist in the world who can be followed in life and career and art almost from week to week.
Paintings by Vincent van Gogh subsequently sold all over the world by Theo's widow how shine as ambassadors of an incredible artists life and artistic genius. One may also go to the MOMA, NYC and see Starry Night, and in London one sees the wonderful Sunflowers.
These works of art by Vincent and his contemporaries from the family collection are now beautifully exhibited in Amsterdam, for the Dutch State came to terms with the Van Gogh family to erect a building and to take care of the staffing and running cost. Added to this core collection are the works of art which inspired Vincent and which are often mentioned in letters from Vincent to Theo. Also subsequently collected are works by painters such as German Expressionists and Dutch Expressionists who championed Vincent. They dared to go where no man had ventured before.
With a bit of luck, I can take you to both places and give you a fascinating and riveting on-the-spot lecture on history, art history and art appreciation. As an art specialist I can stand next to you and we will see what knowledge and passion may yield. In order to really "get it", it may take a specialist to learn how to fully see and appreciate. I am that kind of docent art historian. A culture vulture.
Book, image to the right: a fine biography I wrote a while ago, with maps and city plans from his day and age, of all places where he actually lived, with indications such as x - marks the spot.
(A little cognoscenti note on how to pronounce his name in Dutch: South of the great rivers, where Van Gogh was born, the 'g' is soft and aspirated. North of these rivers, where he also lived and worked as a young man the 'g' is hard, almost overdone-Scottish, like noisily clearing the back of a throat.)
Theo died just one year after Vincent and Theo's widow started a PR campaign to make Vincents' name famous troughout the world. She wrote to art dealers and sent paintings to be exhibited and sold worldwide. And she started publishing the famous volumes of letters by Vincent. The sandwich of the two: Art & Letters had made Vincent the first artist in the world who can be followed in life and career and art almost from week to week.
But where is the Starry Night, people ask. Paintings by Vincent van Gogh subsequently sold all over the world by Theo's widow how shine as ambassadors of an incredible artists life and artistic genius. One may also go to the MOMA, NYC and see Starry Night, and in London one sees the wonderful Sunflowers. Every Dutch master painting is an ambassador !
These works of art by Vincent and his contemporaries from the family collection are now beautifully exhibited in Amsterdam, for the Dutch State came to terms with the Van Gogh family to erect a building and to take care of the staffing and running cost. Added to this core collection are the works of art which inspired Vincent and which are often mentioned in letters from Vincent to Theo. Also subsequently collected are works by painters such as German Expressionists and Dutch Expressionists who championed Vincent. They dared to go where no man had ventured before.
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Also visit the collection in the Kröller Müller museum in a new light! Click Kroller Muller tour.
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You may prepare with a lecture! Imagine being the privileged guest of honour at the home of art historian Kees Kaldenbach. While sipping a fragrant cup of coffee or tea, you listen to his personalized (private or small-group) lecture and discussion on the astounding visual wonders that Vincent van Gogh has bestowed upon us.
Afterwards, a short ride by taxi or tram takes us to the nearby Vincent van Gogh museum (additional entry fee). In the museum Mr Kaldenbach will point out and explain the visual wonders of Vincent van Gogh's technique; contents, brushstrokes, details, composition, colour.
Thus you will be the beneficiary of tailor made travel.
Lectures in Dutch, English or German are given in plain, accessible language.
Listing of Vincents towns of habitation throughout his career.
This is where he lived plus maps
Vincents production statistics, month by month.
Vincents Color theory, his applied art.
Van Gogh Lectures, Amsterdam + Otterlo
See the TV programme on Dutch national TV on Kees Kaldenbach as masseur and art historian. NPS Nederland 2, Saturday, November 25 2006. Go to the Dutch programme Vals Plat. Then move the horizontal bar at the bottom to the desired date. The first 2 minutes starts with a clown in a car. Then my 9 minute bit of fame. Audio track in Dutch.
Photo by Dick Martin. He got the 50 points in the quiz above....
It is a rare and unique privilege that the Rijksmuseum has linked from the main Rijksmuseum site to my site. Start at www.rijksmuseum.nl and select Collection, after which you choose Digital Collaboration and the Digital Vermeer House.
Total
time of this Van Gogh tour: about 2 1/2 hours
Lecture at home:1 hour.
Transport to museum: 1/2 hour
Museum: about 1 hour, important to buy tickets ahead of time, online.
This lecture is available at times which we mutually agree, 7 days a week.
Minimum: 3 persons. Smaller groups are negotiable.
Maximum: Groups will be limited to 8-9 persons. Price per person is lower in a larger group.
If Drs. Kaldenbach is unavailable for any reason, a high quality substitute will take his place.
Otterlo
Kröller-Müller Museum programme
An additional option is a visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo near Arnhem in the east of the Netherlands with chauffeur driven sightseeing. This museum houses another large collection of astonishing Van Gogh paintings including The Langlois Bridge and Wheatfield with a Reaper and other works by his contemporaries and modern artists.
The Kröller-Müller Museum is located in an amazing secluded nature park near Arnhem in the east of The Netherlands and cannot be conveniently reached by public transport.
Transport: a professional taxibus service at around E 70 per hour.
The minibus may be driven by Mr Hans Noltes of www.hollandexploringtours.nl / Hollandtherideway. Mr Noltes is both a geography teacher and a qualified taxi driver. During the ride he will be able to tell you fascinating details about landscape and human habitation.
At the Kröller-Müller Museum, Mr. Kaldenbach will give no museum lecture but he will provide some subdued pointers on ways of seeing and understanding paintings. Preparatory lecture time is about 1 hour. Travel time to be calculated - about 1 1/2 hours in perfect traffic. Kröller-Müller Museum visit time about 1 to 2 hours. A visit to the famous secluded sculpture garden outside the building is optional.
Prices upon request.
You may also arrange this VIP treatment for business contacts or friends. This cultural organisation office will take care of a memorable experience.
April 2011. Kaldenbach is recipient of the WikiDelft prize. Clipping from Haagsche Courant
About Art Historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach has been featured in television and radio documentaries, including BBC2 TV, NTV Japan, Danish TV and Radio Netherlands World Service. In July 2004 he was interviewed by Tetsuya Tsuruhara for the leading Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun. In 2004 and 2005 he acted in an advisory role to additional BBC teams. Kaldenbach has written extensively on Vincent van Gogh and 17th century Delft.
It is a rare and unique privilege that the Rijksmuseum has linked from the main Rijksmuseum site to my site. Start at www.rijksmuseum.nl and select Collection, after which you choose Digital Collaboration and the Digital Vermeer House.
Further information is available on his web site: www.johannesvermeer.info
Drs. Kaldenbach is chairman of the Circle of Academic Tour Guides of the Netherlands and Flanders (CATON)
If you wish, Drs. Kees Kaldenbach is your private "scholar-lecturer on culture tours".*
*Martha Gellhorn, Travels with Myself and another, page 182.
Map of Haarlemmermeerstraat, Amsterdam. Please note this tricky situation: there is another street in town that sounds almost the same: Haarlemmerstraat. You need to go to my street, Haarlemmermeerstraat. Take tram 2 to Hoofddorpplein square or tram 1 to Suriname plein square.
Contact information:
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach kalden@xs4all.nl
Haarlemmermeerstraat 83 hs
1058 JS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
telephone 020 - 669 8119 (from abroad NL +20 - 669 8119)
cell phone 06 - 2868 9775 (from abroad NL +6 - 2868 9775)
How to get there (after your booking confirmation!):
- by car: ring road exit S 106 towards the centre, then 1st to the right (paid parking)
- by trams 1 and 17; exit at Surinameplein
- by tram 2; exit Hoofddorpplein.
From the museum square it takes a 10-minute tram ride.
Read testimonials.
Rembrandt tours.
Vermeer tours.
Visit a Humongous Van Gogh site by David Brooks.
Another fine Van Gogh site by Phyllis Guthrie.
Reaction, questions?
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach, art historian and Vermeer specialist, kalden@xs4all.nl Haarlemmermeerstraat 83hs, 1058 JS Amsterdam (near Surinameplein, ring road exit s106, streetcar tram 1 and 17).
Telephone 020 669 8119; cell phone 06 - 2868 9775.
Open seven days a week.
Member of VVV Amsterdam Tourist office and the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel).
Write to art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach.
This page forms part of the 2000+ item Vermeer web site at www.xs4all.nl/~kalden
Launched August 21, 2004. Updated 25 October, 2016.
See also English Vermeer lectures and tours
Dutch / Nederlandse Vermeer tours.
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